Tagged - 6 Random Things About Me.

I have been tagged by Food Allergy Buzz. I've never been tagged. It feels like being part of the in crowd.



First here are the rules:

• Link to the person who tagged you.


• Post the rules on your blog.


• Write 6 random things about yourself.


• Tag 6 people at the end of your post.


• Let each person know you tagged them by leaving an entry on their blog.


• Let your tagger know when your entry is up on your blog.

Now, 6 random things about me:

• I was considered a geek in middle school and generally shunned in high school. I was just generally not very popular and hence cast myself as the outcast in all social situations.

• Despite not being the popular type I ran for Miss Wisconsin THREE times as Miss Sparta, Miss Southeastern Wisconsin and Miss Wisconsin Central. Which now seems weird even to me. I won preliminary swimsuit two of the years I competed and placed Top Ten, 1st runner-up and 4th runner-up in that order. The picture is from 1994 with my roommate from that year who's name is Pam and I believe she might have been Miss Waukesha. I'm the one in the purple.

• I have lived in 6 states. Wisconsin (19 years), Washington (8 years), Arizona (6 years) North Carolina (2 years) Virginia (2 years) and Minnesota (1 year). Adding that up you get my age. (No we are not a military family)


• I once was an elf at Santa Land at the Bon Marche in Seattle.


• I love movies about people striving for greatness but being held back by the everyday only to find greatness in their ordinary lives such as "It's A Wonderful Life" or "Mr. Holland's Opus" However, the movie I will watch over and over again is "Overboard" with Goldie Hawn.


• I don't like fish. Don't make me eat them. But like fishing. We took Max recently. He let all the worms go. That's me fishing a couple weekends ago. David thinks I'm hot when I'm fishing.
  

Now for the taggees. I am tagging a few other FAMs: Kids Food Allergies Blog (because she's an awesome blogger), This Adobe (because her blog is so elegant), My Kids' allergies (because she was one of the first blogs I started reading), Owen's Food Allergies (because Owen is having a rough month), Fruit of the Womb (3 for me, because she always leaves nice comments on my blog), and Allergy Life in Loudoun (because she's a great voice for food allergies and a real go getter.)

Random Act of Kindness?

I took the toddler with me to Wegman's yesterday. Big boy was in camp. Sweet German high school babysitter is in Germany.

When I returned to my mini-van after spending nearly $200 I found a Wegman's gift card sitting on my back bumper. I picked it up, confused. I peered around the parking lot. Was I on Oprah? Where were the cameras? Was this a test?

An elderly couple walked by us. "I should give it to them" I thought. Followed by the thought "What if there's nothing on it. Then they'd really think you were cuckoo." I thought about going back in the store to find out if there was anything on it but I had a toddler verging on meltdown and a van full of expensive persihables. I got in to drive home.

As I drove I wondered how much was on the gift card? $20? $100? $200???? And why did someone leave it on my bumper? Was I deserving of such a gift? Like everyone else I am feeling the crunch in rising groceries and gas prices but for me it results in less lattes, less junk for the kids, not so many nights ordering pizza or Chinese take-out after the children are in bed. I'm not losing my house or having to walk because I can't put gas in my car. I started counting my blessings. I have great kids and a loving husband. A roof over my head. Food on my table. I am extremely lucky. And not deserving of the random act of kindness.

I called my husband when I got home and told him about the gift card. "Did someone hit the van ? Maybe it was left to make up for any damage done?" "I don't think so. I didn't look" I went outside to check. Besides one small paint scrape on the bumper, the van looked fine.

Still pondering the card I looked it over and found a customer service number. I dialed and asked if I could check the balance.

$3.27. At least I'm still blessed.

Camping With Food Allergies

PK (pre-kids) David and I car camped up and down Western Washington state. From Orcas Island to the Cascades to the Olympic Pennisula. We prided ourselves on being minimalist in our car camping as well. We cooked over the open fire. However, our meals were often elaborate. Cashew Chicken Stir-fry, Brown sugar crusted salmon with pasta and snow peas, one pot chicken with vegetables. Scrambled mess for breakfast (eggs, potatoes and bacon.) We'd come back to camp from a long day hike to some high peak and spend lots of time chopping and drinking wine and relaxing around the camp fire. Okay, David was chopping and I was drinking. PK David was the chef and did a majority of the cooking. Now I do most of the cooking, however, I am more of a short-order cook.

This weekend we took both kids car camping for the first time. Meals are quite different with two food allergy kids. We had hot dogs roasted over the fire. We purchased a camp stove for making bacon and pancakes (recipe from "What's To Eat"). One night we had hobo dinners (hamburger, potatoes, carrots and onions cooked in tin foil on a grate over the fire). And of course a camping trip wouldn't be complete without s'mores. Chocolate bars prove to be the most complicated. I had to melt down safe chocolate chips into candy bar molds before we left. But allergy wise all went fine.

Owen-wise was more difficult. The kid was way too interested in the campfire so we spent most of the time getting in between him and the flames.

So our first excursion was less relaxing and less gourmet but in the end we want to create memories for our children that will take them into their adulthood and hopefully out into the woods.

(PS We packed four Epi-pens for the excursion. Two for each child. And Benedryl.)

Anger Management

Warning: Off Topic Post

I have been taking an anger management class lately (it has made me realize my quick temper lately is more from my feeling of being overwhelmed than that my kids drive me to madness.)

Soon after the second class, which laid out our homework as noticing when we were getting angry and cooling our self down, Max tested me.

I was putting Owen in the bathtub. Max got up on a stool and started flicking the light on and off. "Max, please don't turn the light on and off. I can't see what I'm doing." He does it again. I turn to him very calmly and repeat "Max, please stop." He stops until my back is turned and does it one more time. I turn and yell "MAX, STOP DOING THAT."

He replies, "Ah, ah, ah, Mommy. Remember your class? I am just giving you a little practice."

Bested by a child again.

Freaky Friday

Friday morning my email greeted me with the following:

TO: Me
From: My friend in my food allergy support group

Subject: You're famous!

"Did you know your blog is mentioned in Reader's Digest?? I was just inbed reading my latest RD, and there's a tiny little box on p. 75titled "Get-Real Food Allergy Advice". It mentions 3 blogs, and as I'mreading the intro, I'm thinking, "huh, wouldn't it be funny if one ofthem was Kari's?" And then I get to the third one, and it IS Kari's!!I didn't want to post to the group because I wasn't sure whether youwanted everyone reading your blog, and you may already know about thismention in RD, but just in case you didn't, I thought you should know!You're famous now - people are going to be coming to your blog in muchhigher numbers. NO pressure! :)"

WHAT! At first I thought she must have been mistaken but she confirmed it was true and I went and bought Readers Digest myself and checked and she was right. Right there on page 75 is my blog! The whole thing kind of freaked me out. I went back and forth over the weekend about changing my kids names and ultimately decided not too but did add a counter to the site.

I never intended this blog to be anything other than my own personal therapy in dealing with my kids food allergies though I do think it is important for people to understand the challenges we go through on a daily basis. However, suddenly having my blog published in a magazine is....wierd. I feel like when you speak up in class and suddenly everyone is looking at you and you freeze and your mind totally goes blank. I may have been an actress at one time but sometimes I freak out when I'm in the spotlight. I guess I'll just take a few deep breathes and keep writing.

Shoe Shopping

This past weekend I took the boys (Max, Owen and David) to a shoe store. Each of them picked out shoes for me. I needed tennis shoes so Max picked out a pair of Nike's with a big pink swope on them. I chose some others to try on but Max's pick won out as the most comfy.

We then moved to another isle because I wanted something cute. Max picked out a pair of Skechers with an Asian design and a pair of plaid with a dog on them. Both actually really cute. Owen picked out a pair of bright pink snake skin pumps and though they fit me unusually well I don't know where I would wear them. David picked out a pair of knee high leather boots becuase he thinks they are sexy.

Of course Max had the winning shoe choice and he also kept telling me "Mommy, you should get three pairs of shoes. You really deserve it."

I have lamented that fact that because I didn't have any girls I would never have anyone to shop with but maybe once Max stops feeling the need to run up and down the aisles and hide in the clothing racks he will prove to be a good shopping partner. He certainly has good taste.

He also understands the concept of coordinating one's outfit. Once when he was about three we were at the mall. A woman in front of us was wearing a skirt and knee high boots. Max looked up at me and said "Mommy, that woman's skirt matches her boots perfectly."

That's my boy.

Happy Birthday to ME

For my birthday I got carded at Safeway buying a bottle of wine. I'm 38 today. Didn't figure I still needed to carry ID.

Solstice Party

I am having a solstice party on Saturday (and Jodie it is on the 22nd this year). I love the solstice. To me it is the most wonderful and peaceful day of the year. It means that each day after that one the sun will shine longer. What can be more hopeful than that?

The allergies we are dealing with are: milk, egg, peanut, tree nut, sunflower seed (my kids) and wheat (a guest). My garlic and seafood allergy friends couldn't make the party. I also have one child avoiding citrus, a vegetarian, and 2 pregnant women.

So here is the menu. I realize not everyone can eat everything but I think there is something for everyone. I particularly wanted to avoid dairy though, just to show that you can have a nice spread without any cheese.

Appetizers:
Hummus with fresh cut up veges
Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip with Tortilla Chips (I'm not going to tell people this is vegan and see if they like it)

Main Dish:
Leg of Lamb with mint jelly
Lentil Vegetable soup
Bread

Dessert:
Fudge
Solar Candy
Clementines
Chocolate covered marshmallows on sticks
Candy Canes

Drinks:
Wassail (non-alcoholic)
Mulled wine
Assorted Teas and Hot Chocolate
Seasonal Beers

We'll see how it goes!

Blog Catch Up

I'm going to try to play blog catch up today. With Max home it is nearly impossible to get on here. So though I feel like it is blog cheating I am going to post date some entries.

Laid Up

I had surgery on my foot yesterday so by doctor's orders must be in a reclined postion with my foot up for several days. Time off comes with viocdin for pain so I going to try to catch up on my blogging between drug induced naps.

Outpatient surgery was interesting. Kind of like being on an assembly line. Wait here, apply wrist band, wait here, move to hospital holding area, change into gown, lie here for processing, insert IV, then sedation, wheel to surgery....wake up in new holding area. Husband called, loaded into wheel chair and pushed to exit.

Art and Quality of Life

I have been feeling stressed out lately, an issue with Max, fighting with my husband, over-worrying, two small stubborn children. I've been feeling a little crazy.

Last night I had a guitar lesson and as I sat there with my instructor working to find the right key for me to sing "Away In the Manger" as I played the guitar, I could feel my blood pressure lowering. The more I played the more relaxed I became. By the time I left I felt at peace, in balance...hopeful.

By no stretch of the imagination am I a great guitar player. I'm not even a really good guitar player but I enjoy it. I enjoy the act of doing it. For no one but myself.

As I was driving home I was thinking about art and music in general. If I had not had music in elementary and middle school would I be able to pick up an instrument at my age and feel I was able to do it? Hadn't the music literacy I received in my education helped me be able to enjoy playing and participating now? Hadn't my quality of life been enhanced by music education?

I think this is a good argument for the importance of art in public education. Yes, everyone should learn the basics. Yet, I feel so many people would also find life more worth living if they could touch their inner artist, whether it be visual or performance art; music or dance; watching or doing. How will they find the path to the arts if it doesn't start in education? It seems that the worth of everything taught in public schools needs to be measured but how can the enjoyment I experienced last night, decades after leaving public school, be measured?

Slacker

I have guilt about not being a good poster as of late. I have lots of thoughts rolling around in my head but they keep getting confused with overwhelming thoughts dealing with other issues in our lives right now. So if you check my site regularly and are feeling let down by my lack of interesting and articulate thoughts on food allergies, please keep checking in. My head will get straighten out sometime soon.

A New Me

As parents of small children whether they have food allergies or not, we often don't pay enough attention to ourselves. Among the worrying, comforting, loving, playing, teaching, feeding, dressing, cleaning, juggling, running, and even letting go, we lose parts of who we are until one day we are changed completely. We are no longer that hip, young, flirty, smart childless person we were 5, 10, 15 years ago. We come to a point where we realize we need some remaking. Who says we can't be a hip, young-at-heart, smart person with children? We've changed but that doesn't mean we can't own who we are. Right?

Somewhere in my mid 20's I realized my hair was getting darker. I had always been a sunny blond and wanted to keep it that way so I started getting my hair highlighted. When my roots grow out I go back to the salon for more highlights. I have been doing this for at least as many years as I've been married (11?). I scheduled my day at the spa sometime last week; partial highlight and a cut, skip the blow dry. At the same time my Self magazine had arrived in the mail with Sarah Michelle Geller on the front cover, her hair a much darker hue than when she played my favorite TV character of all time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And it suddenly occurred to me, "Why am I fighting it? My hair is no longer naturally blond. What if it was this color?" Saturday afternoon, I tucked my magazine under my arm and headed off for the salon. I sat in the chair and offered the magazine to the colorist, "I know I said highlights, but do you think we could do this instead?" She inspected my roots. "It's really close to your natural color. It will probably even be easier to maintain. Let's do it."

So I did.

I am no longer a blond. With my new color, I think I may need new make-up. Perhaps a new wardrobe? I feel like a new person.

As I left the salon, I thought I looked older, more mature. More fitting my age. I stopped in Whole Foods for a few last minute items for dinner and a bottle of wine to celebrate my new do. At the cash register the young attendant scanned the bottle, looked up at me and said "ID please." Guess it isn't the hair that makes me look young or was she just trying to flatter me?

Here I am with dark hair. My kids didn't think I should have my picture taken alone.

Mommys With Guitars

This is for my sister and mother.


I've been taking guitar lessons since last January so be kind with your criticism.

See how much my kids love my guitar playing. What's that Owen said? Oh, yeah. STOP!

Shopping Carts

When Max was first diagnosed with food allergies I was obsessive about grocery carts. I was the strange Mom with the toddler tucked under one arm thoroughly wiping down every part of the cart which my child was going to touch. Max was very contact reactive as a toddler. Once at a Starbucks he picked up a muffin wrapper and put it to his face; everywhere it touched he broke out in hives. He would also just get random hives, leaving me to scratch my head as to where he had been, what he had touched. At five he has mostly grown out of this. However, when he was one, grocery carts were approached as if they were ticking bombs. Owen's Mom (that would again be me) is much less obsessive about wiping down the cart and he just gets plopped down in the seat and handed a graham cracker.

However, I am on grocery carts for another reason all together today, nothing of which has to do with food allergies. When we first moved to Northern Virginia I was perplexed by the grocery store parking lot etiquette. Wheeling the shopping cart out to the car seemed discouraged. Large barriers are placed around the entrance of the store though at some you could take the cart off to the side and out to the parking lot that way, however no one else seemed to be doing this. I was left to ponder whether I would be making a grocery store faux pas if I actually wheeled the cart to my car. So what was a mother with two small children and a week's worth of groceries to do? It seemed I was to fetch my car (taking my kids with me) and drive up to the front of the store where I had left my loaded cart and some minimum wage worker would help me load my groceries into the car. Sometimes if they weren't busy and you didn't have a lot of groceries the worker would actually take your groceries to the car. Which left me to ponder "Do I tip them?" It all seemed very odd to me.

A year later it still makes me a little nervous to park my cart full of expensive groceries in front of the Whole Foods as I carry my toddler to the car and strap him in. Perhaps it's because had I done this in Durham, NC (our last place of residence) there was a good chance I wouldn't see my groceries again.

Peanuts on the Floor

Someone from one of the online support groups I peruse recently posted about seeing a new restaurant in her area. The sign read "Jimmy Mac's Roadhouse - Steaks - Crabcakes - Peanuts on the Floor". She was taken aback by the "Peanuts on the Floor" and mentioned that besides the allergy issues (definitely not taking her kids there) that she found it unsanitary.

It reminded me of something I looked forward to every year when I was a kid. We lived in a really small town (think itty bitty). There was a couple grocery stores, a couple bars, post office, library and one all-purpose hardware store. Jack Robinson's Hardware Store. Every December the whole town geared up for Christmas. There were crafts displays and goings on at the community hall. I remember the Christmas pageants we elementary school kids prepared and performed at the hall, a trek down the hill from the old brick school building. Norman Rockwell kind of stuff. (You can still find it in a small town called Ontario, WI). But what I really looked forward to was going to Jack Robinson's Hardware Store to crack peanuts out of the shell and throw them on his concrete floor. That was his thing. Every year around Christmas you could eat peanuts at Jack Robinson's and drop the shells. He said it was good for the floor.

What a bizarre thought for me now. For the parent of a peanut allergic kid, this is an absolute nightmare. But Jack Robinson could do that back in the 1970's (aging myself here) because though there were people allergic to peanuts then, I don't think there was anywhere near the number of food allergic children as there is now. I certainly didn't know any people in Ontario, WI allergic to peanuts.

Times have changed. The number of children allergic to peanuts doubled in a five year period. There is no cure. Ontario, WI is a dying town due to death of the family farm and any other type of industry settling in rural Wisconsin. And Jack Robinson's Hardware store closed many years ago.

They still throw one hell of a fourth of July party though, complete with kiddie parades, local talent contest, polka band and fireworks. Max got to have his first cotton candy there this summer. I didn't see anyone selling peanuts.

Off Topic

Also OT, how does one become an Alpha Mom? I think it must involve driving an SUV and working out at a gym as well as not making eye contact with the mom's lower on the social heirarchy.

Cereal Family

Now this isn't necessarily food allergy related but as I forcifully shoved yet another box of cereal into our miniscule amount of cupboard space I thought "How did we become a cereal family." Honestly before children I don't remember EVER having cereal in our home, maybe cereal bars but beyond that not even oatmeal. What did we eat for breakfast? Did we eat breakfast? I only remember eating breakfast out at fun little diners. When was my life invaded with cereal?